This invention relates to athletic footwear and more particularly, to a device used for the repair and/or protection of tennis shoe tips. Such a device is useful to a tennis player who, by the normal motion of dragging his back foot while hitting the ball, wears down the toe of his tennis shoe long before the remainder of the shoe is worn out. This type of damage to tennis shoes is a common and widespread problem among tennis players.
At present, the following two methods may typically be used for repairing tennis shoe tips: professional replacement of a portion of the sole near the toe of the shoe, and application of a fluid elastomer onto the damaged area of the shoe so that the elastomer, upon curing, forms a permanently contacted flexible patch. Replacement of a portion of the sole by a professional shoe repairman is expensive and deprives the player of the use of his tennis shoes for the duration of the repair period, including the time to transport the shoes to and from the repair station. On the other hand, a fluid elastomer patch may be applied by the player, thereby eliminating much of the expense and delay associated with the partial sole replacement approach. However, correct application of the fluid elastomer, by the player, in order to form a well-tailored patch is difficult. The coating must be sufficiently thick over its central portion to maximize the life of the patch against wear, yet be sufficiently thin at the edges to insure user safety and comfort. Another disadvantage of the fluid elastomer patch is the difficulty in achieving a uniformly sound bond at the edges of the patch.
Protective caps for toes of shoes and boots in general are known in the prior art. However, such caps are not suitable for tennis shoes where they would be subjected to high and rapid flexure, as, for example, occur during strenuous tennis play, since no provision is made to match the elasticities of the cap, shoe, and adhesive in order to prevent separation of the cap from the shoe. Furthermore, no provision exists in the prior art caps which allows a single cup to be positioned off-center to either side of a right or left shoe, which would permit it to cover the damaged regions of the shoes of a large number of tennis players who sustain such wear.
It is the object of the present invention to provide an improved means for the protection of the toe of a tennis shoe which is easily attached to a tennis shoe.
A further object is to provide an improved means for the protection of the toe of a tennis shoe which is readily adaptable to a plurality of mounting positions on the shoe.
A further object of the invention is to provide a protective toe cup for a new or non-worn tennis shoe tip to prevent damage thereto by covering the front of the shoe with this cup.